The Shocking Truth About What is Happening in Louisiana Nursing Homes

If all the latest research is correct, Louisiana's older population is among the nation's leaders in a scary statistic.

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According to theseniorlist.com, our seniors are living out their golden years getting busy. Yes, that kind of "busy."

The Senior List states that Louisiana seniors are among the highest in America in regard to rates of sexually transmitted infections including syphilis, gonorrhea, and chlamydia.

Apparently there's a lot more going on behind closed doors in Louisiana's retirement communities than bingo games and quilting parties.

Eww, That Means They're Doing The Nasty

Our older population is evidently spending lots of "quality time together" and it would appear they aren't doing it "safely." In 2020, forbes.com wrote,

According to the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC’s) annual Sexually Transmitted Disease Surveillance Report, cases of several common sexually transmitted infections (STIs) have reached historic highs among elderly populations in the U.S. 

Find that information a little hard to swallow?  Just look at what the website, nursinghomesabuse.org had to say on the matter.  "Current data suggests that rates of STDs in Americans age 65 or older have risen by as much as 260 percent since 2008. Many of these affected individuals are residents of nursing homes."

Why Has Our Older Society Become So Sexually Active?

While it's really impossible to isolate one specific factor contributing to these historic numbers of sexually transmitted diseases from America's elderly, nursinghomesabuse.org did point out some variables that are likely candidates.

• STD rates have risen for all ages so the recent surge in those same rates at nursing homes could be related to that overall trend
• Erectile dysfunction medications such as Viagra and hormone therapies for post-menopausal women have allowed individuals 65 or older to engage in sexual activity more frequently.
• Many nursing home residents may have inadequate education on safe sexual practices.
• Older women may assume that because they can no longer become pregnant, they do not need to practice safe sex
• Nursing home residents as a whole may be unaware of the potential risk for STD transmittance among their population.
• Social stigma about sexual activity in the older population may also discourage nursing home residents from addressing the issue or seeking medical help if they suspect they have an STD. This results in an inadequate institutional response to an STD outbreak among a nursing home population, which only causes the situation to worsen.

Maybe it's time we all commit to visiting Paw Paw at the retirement home and make sure he's not hoarding a supply of "little blue pills" in his medicine cabinet.